Chandigarh, January 10
In an endeavour to boost aeronautical development in the country and attract bright students towards this field, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has started giving financial grants to academic institutions and engineering colleges. Under one such grant, a modern laboratory at the Aeronautical Department of the Punjab Engineering College (PEC), here is being established. The lab is expected to function shortly.

According to sources, PEC has received a grant of Rs 20 lakh through the Aeronautical Research and Development Board (ARDB), an establishment functioning under the aegis of the DRDO. The grant is meant to provide the latest and up-to-date laboratory facilities to students of aeronautical engineering, where they can carry out designing as well as simulations.

Besides the Indian Institutes of Technology and the MIT, Chennai, PEC is the only other engineering college in the country to offer a degree course in aeronautical engineering.

“Over the past few years, the aviation sector in the country has witnessed a spurt in growth, an engineer associated with DRDO commented. “A lot of resources and efforts are being directed towards this field. The current thinking is that those opting for research and development in aviation or aircraft maintenance as a career should have a sound academic and professional base, which is at par with current developments in the field,” he added.

Sources point out that with indigenous projects like the Light Combat Aircraft and the Advance Light Helicopter taking wings, besides other projects like transport and trainer aircraft on the drawing boards, aeronautical engineering in the country has assumed a new significance.

Aviation experts are quick to point out that though it is the DRDO which is giving grants to academic institutes, the move is not entirely defence specific. The civil aviation sector in the country too is growing and would require a large number of qualified aeronautical engineers in the coming years.

“A private Bangalore-based firm, Tanuja Aerospace, has already set a precedent by designing a transport aircraft for the civilian sector. Another venture between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Russia is under way to design a medium transporter for the IAF, of which a civilian version is also being planned,” the source added.

DRDO has, for some time now, also implementing scholarship schemes for students of aeronautical engineering. For instance, students of PEC who score 70 per cent marks or above are paid Rs 3,000 per month in addition to Rs 2,500 per annum as book allowance, besides an assured job as Scientist-B in a DRDO set-up.

Chandigarh, January 10
On the fifth day of Road Safety Week, a rally on two-wheelers, with riders wearing helmets, was organised by the local traffic police. More than 250 girl students participated in the rally that passed through various sectors before ending at Sector 17.

The traffic police advised the women to be conscious of road safety rules and to wear helmets while driving two-wheelers. Students of Dev Samaj College, Sectors 36 and 45, College of Education, Sector 20 and Government College for Girls, Sectors 11 and 42, participated in the rally.

Earlier, Mr Rajesh Kumar,
IGP, Chandigarh police, flagged off the rally from Children Traffic Park, Sector 23. He appealed to the people of Chandigarh to follow traffic rules for their safety. Senior officials of the local police and the staff of participating colleges were present. The traffic police awarded prizes to nine women for observing road safety rules and wearing helmets.

Zirakpur, January 10
Community policing, hi-tech surveillance cameras and electrified barbed wire fencing are some of the steps panicky residents of Zirakpur and its surrounding are taking following the recent spate of robberies, murders and thefts.

Following a survey by Chandigarh Tribune of various colonies and villages, it was revealed that inmates have started constituting groups of youth for community policing (thikri pehra) while people from well-to-do families have gone in for latest gadgets, including surveillance and close circuit cameras on the boundary walls of their houses.

Throwing norms to winds, some scared residents have even gone to the extant of erecting electrified barbed wire fencing on the boundary walls of their houses. Though they know the consequences of indulging in such kind of activity, life is of more relevance for them.

While the larger upcoming housing colonies in Zirakpur have chalked out proposals of installation of close circuit cameras at every corner of the colony, the residents of other partially developed and developing colonies have erected electrified barbed wires and wire meshes atop the boundary walls of their houses.

While talking to the Chandigarh Tribune Mr Sunil Banda, General Manager of Silver City Construction Limited, the largest housing society coming up here, revealed that taking the increasing crime rate seriously, the society has decided to set up 10 high-tech close circuit cameras in the colony.

In addition to this private security guards have also been deployed in and around the colony to provide a better security cover to the inhabitants. ‘‘A proposal of acquiring high-tech alarm systems is also under consideration,’’ claimed Mr Banda.

Over a dozen residents owning houses in the outskirts of the different colonies have erected electrified barbed wires atop the boundary walls of their houses as a precautionary measure.

On the condition of anonymity, a resident of Dhakauli revealed that they switch on the

electrified wires late in the evening and disconnect early in the morning.

He said: ‘‘We are forced to do so as the government has failed to give us protection. We have constructed houses after investing our hard earned money in the area. But the question rises that who is responsible to provide us security,’’ he pointed out.

The police has hardly performed night patrolling in these colonies and villages for the last over two years, following which they have not only lost faith in the police authorities but also in the government, residents of Zirakpur alleged.

Mr Sardara Singh, a resident of Handesra village, was of the view that the police wakes up only after
occurrence of ‘bloody incidents,’ and then again goes into deep slumber.

Residents of the area held the government responsible for all the ‘bloodshed’ and deteriorating law and order situation in this border belt of the state. They complain that the police authorities have hardly held any meeting with the people in the last over two years.

A major gap between the police and public, lack of infrastructure like vehicles, telephones, wireless sets, and irresponsible behaviour of the police authorities have boosted the morale of the miscreants, alleged Mr Jaswant Singh of Bartana village.

Chandigarh, January 10
With the PGI Director, Prof S.K. Sharma, failing to convince the resident doctors to join evening OPD, it were the faculty members who ran the facility on the second day today.

A total of 37 patients visited the evening OPD, presently being offered in six faculties i.e. Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Paediatrics, ENT, Eye and Gynaecology.

The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) today met the Director and conveyed their decision of staying away from evening OPD to him. “Even though we have conveyed our decision to the Director he has expressed his desire to address the resident doctors , to convince them to join the facility, which will ultimately be in the public interest,” said a member of the ARD.

Meanwhile, the ARD members said like their counterparts at AIIMS, they had decided not to join evening OPD, especially when they were already burdened working 14 to 16 hours daily.

Chandigarh, January 10
The dipping mercury with temperature being recorded the lowest of the season at 1.4°C is suspected to have claimed the lives of two persons who were recently displaced from Janata Kumhar Colony here today.

Seventy-year-old Saroj died during the day due to the intense cold and 40-year-old Suman Pal was found dead in the morning in his bed with apparent signs of hypothermia in Government School, Sector 25, area Councillor Shyama Negi said.

Mr Pal used to sleep in the school after his “illegally constructed” house on an encroached piece of government land was demolished in December by the Chandigarh Administration.

Deputy Commissioner M.
Ramsekhar, however, neither denied nor confirmed the death due to the “reason” attributed to by the area councillor.

He said the demolition had been carried out in early December after a due notice being served on the residents. The Deputy Commissioner said the cause of the deaths would be ascertained by the Chandigarh Administration through the medical history of the persons who allegedly died due to “intense cold.” He said deaths were “sad” but till the cause was ascertained, matters of compensation could not be considered.

The Deputy Commissioner said the administration would start the process of checking up the facts tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the respite from the cold eluded people with the day’s temperature remaining

11 degrees below the normal at 9.2°C.

The cloudy weather with winds made the people feel the intensity of the cold even more than other days.

Flights remained delayed or cancelled for the consecutive third day. Trains, buses and good carriers continued to reach behind schedule at their destinations.

Ludhiana remained the coldest in the night with the temperature recorded at .04, 6°C below normal, followed by Ambala at 0.7°C and Patiala at 1.5°C.

Chandigarh, January 10
Unusually cold and foggy conditions have hit operations of transport aircraft and helicopters from the local Airbase. Since the base which houses the squadron of the 12 Wing is critical for movement of supplies for troops in forward areas along the Indo-Pak border and also along the Line of Control (LoC) the disruption in flight schedule is of concern.

Sources said it would take about a week or 10 days of extensive flying to clear the backlog of supplies once the skies open up.

Normally the bases in the forward areas have their own backup stocks for about 45 days to tide over such exigencies when flights have to be suspended. With the fog cover being spread across the entire northern region its is virtually impossible for transport flights to be on regular sorties to Leh for dropping supplies. Besides the regular sorties to places like Guwahati, Nagpur and Bangalore have been disrupted.

To all these places fixed flights of the IL 76 operate. To Guwahati the planes carry men who are going or coming back from leave. A large number have been held back. To Nagpur and Bangalore it is equipment that needs to be airlifted. A large number of aircraft engines, including those of the MiGs, which come here for serving at the 3 Base Repair Depot are also airlifted to other places.

In the early part of this week all transport and all helicopter flights had been curtailed and sorties could be carried only when the weather cleared for a short period during the latter part of the afternoon or in the evening. Sources said the visibility problem is only in the plains and not in the higher reaches thus the planes cannot take off from here itself.

In the past three days flights had been badly hit. Though, the Air Force authorities are tight-lipped on the issue due to the strategic importance of the base, sources admitted that the flights have been hit. The visibility is no more than 300 metres and under these conditions it is difficult to fly a helicopter or a fixed wing IL 76 transport plane which needs visual contact to be on the safer side.

Chandigarh, January 10
Come April 1 and Indian soldiers will be able to enjoy ‘broilers in their meals. Until now they could only have ducks, jungle fowl, water fowl, turkey, guinea fowl, culled fowl/chicken in their meals.

The Director-General of Supplies and Transport (DGST) has amended ASC specification No 154 for dressed poultry to pave way for the “broilers” to enter the messes of Indian armed forces from the next Fools’ Day.

Though the amendment came about last month, two of major Army commands — Western and Northern — have already invited tenders for the supply of broilers to the defence forces.

On an average, the Army in the northern region consumes about 50,000 to 60,000 kg of dressed poultry (chicken/fowl) a day.

There has been a long-standing demand from the defence forces to amend the dressed poultry specification order as the fowls supplied to them have a very low ratio of meat to the bones. Further, fowls have a long and tedious cooking procedure compared to the broilers.

The amended specification order defines broiler as a young meat-type chicken, seven to nine weeks of age of either sex, that is having tender meat with soft, pliable, smooth textured skin, flexible breast bone and a firm bright-coloured comb.

The amendment has been widely hailed in the defence circles as “fowls supplied earlier were all bones and hardly any meat,” commented a senior retired defence officer, holding that it takes very long for any amendment to the specifications to come through. “The procedures are long and cumbersome. It is good that it has come through. While the rest of the country has been enjoying broilers for almost two decades now, they are at last coming to the army messes,” he added.

Sources reveal that northern poultry farmers have been producing almost 20 million kg of broilers a month and meeting the demand of the Northern and Western Commands for 50,000-60,000 kg a day would be no problem for them.

Against an average of 300 gm of meat from a fowl weighing a kg, the meat content would go up to 600 gm from a kg of broiler.

Sources reveal that most of the suppliers have offered to supply broiler to defence units at rates varying between Rs 45 and Rs 50 a kg. Earlier, the fowls used to be supplied at rates varying between Rs 36 and Rs 38 a kg.

Though the Army will have to pay more to get broilers. It will be able to give to its soldiers more “meaty meals” cooked quickly and economically. As such, the cost would work out to be the same, the sources said.

Wedding
planners hold the key
Be it Devdas setting or ‘Evening in Paris’
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 10
Marriage is not so simple an affair anymore. Had it been just about the union of two souls, affluence would not have made its way to the events that mark its solemnization. There is something about weddings that no family worth a social reckoning can afford to dismiss these days. And this “something” stems from the fact that wedding is an industry in itself, commanding over 1000 crore of annual investment.

In the circle of glamour that marks modern day weddings there has emerged a fresh line of service providers called the wedding planners, who hold the key to the customer’s heart. That this genre of professionals is not very old gets confirmed the moment you interact with professional wedding planners in Chandigarh to take part in the ongoing mega wedding show Vivah 2003 at Shivalik View, Sector 17. Sound of Music and Aucky are big contestants in the field. Not only do they plan the theme and layout for the wedding, they also see that the plan is brought home without any burden on the client. No wonder they are already commanding over 400 crore annually for the comfort and ease with which they work out the wedding for their clients.

Meher Sarid is one of the brightest stars in this sky. Recently she executed the largest wedding ever held in India. This wedding (of the daughter of one of the media barons) was held at Bhopal and it entailed expenditure of many crores, with each invitation card having been designed at the cost of Rs 20,000! She, however, designs at low budgets, depending on clients’ requirements.

As Creative Head of Sound of Music, one of the key players in the industry, Meher Sarid excels in taking over the complete design and management of wedding activities that starts from designing invitation cards to creating full blown theme set-ups, be it an “evening in Paris, an elaborate Japanese wedding, the exuberant Devdas kind of setting or any such theme that the client requires.

Talking to The Tribune about the growing potential of the industry, Mr. Anil Mandla, general manager, Sound of Music, said, “This division handles complete designing and coordination of weddings right from décor to trousseau packing, designing the stage for the couple, providing singers, dancers, bands and much more.”

The wedding concept is evolved very rationally. Mandla informed, “We begin with the décor which is planned according to the colours which the bride and the groom will wear on the wedding day. The colour theme is meant to enhance the couple’s charms and not subdue them in any way. The plan follows in the same colour scheme. Décor is just one part. We handle hotel reservations for guests, manage their transportation and even see to it that their meals are lavishly served. We keep changing the venues for lunch, dinner etc. The idea is to fill the moments before the wedding with exuberance and joy.”

Wedding planners operate through units, which form a part of the industry. So there are in-house floral divisions for flower arrangements, wedding art professionals to fabricate structures in the space of wedding. This unit handles wooden carving, wrought iron props, tailoring and embroidery by experts. The other sector, which offers complementary services to these wedding planners, comprises filmmakers for marriages.

Associated with Sound of Music is Raja Jain, the man behind Wedding Filmmakers, a division that has clients like Pramod Saxena (CEO, Motorola), K.D. Lakhani (Lakhani group) and Preity Zinta (actress). Informed Raja Jain: “We shoot all functions right from the shagan ceremony to mehndi and the final wedding and vidai. The whole shoot is then compressed into an hour-long wedding film shot on digital broadcast cameras. We include profiles of bride and groom, interviews with family members to personalise the professional assignment.”

Caterers work in tandem with wedding planners. In attendance at Vivah 2003 is Amarinder Singh Kochar of Season Catering, who says: “We have modern state of the art food production units. Our expert chefs produce the best of culinary delights in Punjabi, Mughlai, Tabakh, South India, Thai, French, Mexican and other cuisines of all descriptions.”

Panchkula, January 10
Even as the cold wave sweeping the region forced most people to remain indoors, the contestants for the MC poll faced the chilling winds as they went door-to-door seeking votes.

With the elections just nine days away, the candidates have now intensified their campaigning. Car rallies and processions by candidates can be seen in a number of wards. Other than distributing their pamphlets, the candidates are also distributing New Year and Lohri greeting cards - hoping to win the favour of candidates.

The election manifesto of Mr Roshan Lal Goyal, an INLD-supported candidate from ward No. 27, was released by Mr Kanti Prakash Bhalla, former minister in Sector 2, today. Mr Goyal said he was one of the oldest residents of Old Panchkula and had been involved in various social causes for the people. He promised to work for rationalisation of various taxes imposed by the Municipal Council, better sanitation, streetlights and overall development of Old Panchkula.

Ms Manveer Gill, an Independent candidate from ward No. 23, today said she had completed her door-to-door campaigning at least three times. “My voters have been signing on stickers and putting these on their gates, indicating their support for me, “ she said. Ms Gill, who is a niece of former Member of Parliament, Mr Lachchman Singh, is promising better development of her ward, beautification and realignment of the nullah passing through Sectors 4 and 12, removal of encroachments, better sanitation, streetlighting, fighting the Congress grass and stray cattle menace.

Mr V.K. Sood, the BJP candidate from ward No. 4, has been associated with various social organisations and has been contributing to many NGO’s engaged in public welfare. He said he had accelerated his election campaigning through door-to-door canvassing. Today , he visited the houses in Housing Board Colony, where he was apprised of problems like repair of roads, better drainage, sanitation and maintenance of green belts.

In ward No. 6, the BJP MLA from Garshankar, Mr Avinash Khanna, released the election manifesto of BJP candidate Baldev Kumar Nayyar. Mr Nayyar is a social worker and has been active in various social and religious organisations. He has promised abolition of fire tax, rationalisation of other taxes, maintenance and beautification of parks, construction of a dharamshala in Sector 18, providing two collection centres for depositing of water, electricity and telephone bills in Sectors 17 and 18.

Ms Urmil Dheer, a social worker and general secretary of Sri Lakhsmi Narayan Mandir, Women Wing, has been receiving a good response from voters. Accompanied by eminent citizens of the ward, Mr A.K. Verma and Mr S.K. Singhal and former Engineer-in-Chief, Haryana, Mr S.K. Khosla, she has now begun her third round of campaigning.

She promises rationalisation of taxes imposed by Municipal Council, while providing an alternate source of income to the MC by transferring of unsold property to the Council. She also assured to pursue the construction of a gaushala so as to solve stray cattle menace.

Mr Pawan Kumar Garg, an Independent candidate from ward No. 6, said that he had been getting a positive response from people in Sectors 17 and 18. He has promised realignment and covering of the seasonal rivulet passing through the ward, proper drainage, working for rationalization of taxes and construction of a community centre for the ward.

Mr Randhir Singh Badhran, a candidate from ward No. 20, too, has released his election manifesto and promised repair of roads, maintenance of streetlights, parks and better water supply. A lawyer by profession, Mr Badhran, has been active in social life , besides holding positions in various lawyers associations. He is also the president of the People’s Forum, Haryana, and has been involved in organising various health camps and blood donation camps.

Ms Rinki Chabbra, an Independent candidate from ward No. 9, said she had now begun her second round of door-to-door campaigning. She is promising to develop her ward as a model ward and work for better sanitation, streetlights, parks and drainage facilities.

Chandigarh, January 10
In the absence of clear guidelines to charge money for providing security at private functions, the Chandigarh Police is losing out on revenue, running into lakhs of rupees. Every week, on an average around 400 policemen are deployed on law and order duty at cultural events, religious congregations and trade fairs in the city.

Not only is the state exchequer losing out on the revenue, the extra duty is telling on the health of the already under-staffed force. Sources in the police say that the Chandigarh Administration already has a policy to charge fee for providing armed police personnel to escort employees carrying cash. On the recommendation of the previous Inspector General of Police (IGP), Chandigarh, the administration had increased the charges manifold.

For the policemen escorting employees carrying cash, if the duty was for more than five hours the charges were double and during the night hours, the fee was doubled if the duty was for more than four hours. However, the police department has no guidelines to charge money for deployment at cultural events and trade fairs. "The duty at the trade fairs and late night cultural events is more compelling as compared to that of escorting employees of boards and corporations", said a senior police official.

The police official opined that the income gathered from the private functions could be utilised for welfare activities of the police department. Data gathered by the TNS revealed that for cultural events at Leisure valley, over 400 policemen are deployed on an average. During the last year, over 7,000 policemen were deployed at 73 trade fairs, 25 religious functions and 27 cultural events in the city.

An official said during the month of October last, 27 trade fairs and three religious congregations were held. And in November last, 14 trade fairs and five religious functions were held. The most busy day was the New Year’s eve as over 800 policemen had been deployed at 72 venue in the city — private and official.

On the condition of anonymity, a senior official said it had been observed that private organisers engaged government officials to suggest the function as official.

The fee charged by the Chandigarh Police to provide armed policemen to escort employees carrying cash

SAS Nagar, January 10
All men are equal but some are more equal than others. Much to anguish of the residents of the township, civic and administrative authorities have conveniently turned a blind eye to some of the most common and easily visible forms of encroachments by these more-than-equal residents.

Encroachments galore all over the township. Starting with piles of construction material lying on roads outside construction sites; private commercial vehicles parked on footpaths; public parks being used as school playgrounds; empty plots used as truck and tempo
parkings... no one is either being stopped or fined.

The Municipal Council bans construction material from brimming over to roads or parks next to the site. But rarely does anyone constructing a house follows this rule. Bricks are lined up on roads, cement and piles of mud at times completely block roads causing
inconvenience to road users. “Those who are constructing a house or any other building has to take special permission from the council to use an empty plot nearby or a part of a park etc. But none does it,” stated a council official.

Some residents of Phase I have been now complaining for long about the misuse of a public park by a school owner, running a school in a residential building near the park. “The park is for people to walk, jog or exercise but I have been told that it is used by the school owner to have the morning assembly complete with the drum beats then later by students during their game period. No one has stopped him,” says Mr B.S.
Tej, president of the Citizens Welfare Council. The owner of Paragon School, Mr Balraj Singh
Shergill, however, states that there is no restriction on who can use the public park and who cannot. “There are swings in the park which are meant for children so what if school students use them. It is just a bundle of lies that we use drums in the morning assembly. We do not,” he says.

A similar experience is related by Mr H.S.
Sangha, president, Residents Welfare Association, 3B1. In a letter addressed to the Additional Chief Administrator, PUDA, Mr Sangha has complained that the owner of Commando caterers is misusing the footpath by parking his vehicles. ‘‘We have complained to the authorities concerned, including the Deputy Commissioner, Ropar, but no action has ever been taken on him,” says Mr
Sangha.

Mr Kanwaljit Singh Walia, owner of the catering company, however, states that the vehicles are parked close to the house for security reasons. “A few months back a vehicle was broken into and some stuff stolen. Since then we have parked them here. Moreover I have not received any complaint whatsoever from any one of the residents to remove these vehicles. If they find their being parked here inconvenient, I will remove these immediately,” he says.

Chandigarh, January 10
The VHP yesterday claimed the conversion of Pargat Singh through alleged inducements by Mohammed Shabir, a tantrik at Rajpura, and asked Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to get an inquiry conducted into the affair and its possible connection with the ISI.

The VHP produced Mr Pargat Singh here and an affidavit, purported to have been submitted by him. He had allegedly been converted and rechristened Salim Mohammed at Deoband in Uttar Pradesh after “sunnat” ceremony.

The VHP has not registered a case, enquiries revealed. An independent confirmation of the allegations made by the VHP and Mr Pargat Singh was not available.

Mr Pargat Singh said he had gone to the house of Mohammed Bashir to whitewash it, where he was given an allurement of Rs 40,000 to convert to Islam, which he could not resist. Asked why he was waking up after six years, he said he fell out with Mohammed Bashir on the issue of the last rites of its maternal grandmother. He accused Mohammed Bashir of being a debauch. He alleged that a son of Mr Mohammed Bashir was bringing arms from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh.

The VHP asked the Punjab Chief Minister to provide security to Mr Pargat Singh. It also sought a law against conversion on the pattern of Tamil Nadu.

Chandigarh, January 10
I need some time to settle down and it is a bit too early to say what will be idea of dealing with the new assignment, said Mr Virender Singh, Adviser to the UT Administrator, after he arrived in Chandigarh this evening to take charge of his new job.

Mr Singh arrived at the UT guest house in a private car — a Ford Escort — around 7 p.m where he was received by officials of the Chandigarh Administration. Among those present were the Home Secretary, Mr R.S. Gujral, the Commissioner Municipal Corporation, Mr M.P. Singh, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr M. Ramsekhar, the Under Secretary Home, Mr Ashok Sangwan, the Director IT, Mr Vivek Atray, and the SSP, Mr Gaurav Yadav.

Talking to mediapersons later he said that he already met the Administrator, Lieut Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd) in Delhi.

Mr Virender Singh started his career as a SDM of Goa in 1971. Hailing from Uttar Pradesh, Mr Singh studied in Meerut and Rampur. Before being selected into the IAS, he was a scientific officer in the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
(BARC).

Chandigarh, January 10
The fold of death is strong. But the forces of life always emerge stronger. That is why in the final judgment, it is the beauty of life that is counted more than the ugly finality of death. A day after his departure for heavenly abode, the revered B.C. Sanyal, fondly called Bhabdeshda, has already begun a new life in the memory of his friends, who remember him as a man of “dignity, integrity and sincerity.”

B.C. Sanyal was fondly linked to city beautiful which he often visited as part of his artistic escapades and even professional tours. Till 1990 he remained the member of the Chandigarh Government Museum Advisory Committee and he was still functioning in the capacity of member of the Art Purchase Committee of Government Museum, Sector 10. Quite naturally he had strong connections with artists, art lovers, art historians and art critics based in the city as elsewhere in the country. He was also the first speaker at the Amrita Shergill Memorial Lecture, instituted in 1979-80, to be taken up as an annual feature by Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh, Sector 10.

Art historian Dr B.N. Goswami remembers Bhabdeshda for his ability to ride on changes of all kinds with admirable ease. Sharing his feelings about the revered artist today, he said,” Bhabdeshda was a man of great equanimity of mind. He not only resembled George Bernard Shaw in appearance but also had some sort of a Shawian wit. Free of prejudice, he was above the divisions that mark the world of art. About 30 years ago I worked with him on some committee and I always admired him for his ability to rise above factions. He was one man who always had a kind word to say. I also remember the occasion when we had to buy his work for the Chandigarh Museum. Starved of funds, the museum could not pay him much. With dignity, he remarked, “pay me what you can and take my work.”

Former Principal of the Government College of Art, Sector 10, Prof Prem Singh holds Bhabdeshda in high esteem. “No one can match his calibre, be it on professional or personal front. He was a man everybody loved. Not only was he regarded in artistic circles for his academic excellence, he was equally loved for his integrity of character. His contribution to the world of art education is unmatched till date. Also as an artist he was among the leading lights. As first principal of the Delhi College of Art, he had the best team of teachers comprising Sailoj Mukherjee, whose works have now been declared as national art treasure. Others in his team were Dhanraj Bhagat, Somnath Hori, Dinkar Kaushik and Jaya Goswami. They have all been artists of reckoning.”

Chandigarh, January 10
The incident in which Manu Sharma was accused of assaulting Parikshit Pandit, alias Christo, a local DJ, yesterday, has turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.

In a written statement issued here today, Parikshit alleged that he had been assaulted by Rahul Kakkar, manager, Blue Ice Bar, Sector 17, and not Manu Sharma, whom he even did not recognise. Manu Sharma’s family members have been insisting since yesterday that Manu was not even in town when the alleged incident took place.

Manu Sharma is presently on bail. He is accused of murdering Jessica Lal in New Delhi in 1999. The DJ lodged a daily diary report (DDR) at the Sector 17 police station yesterday alleging that he had been assaulted by Manu.

Chandigarh, January 10
As much as Rs 250 crore will be spent towards modernising the Indo-Tibetan Border Force Police (ITBP). This was revealed by Mr R C Agarwal, Director-General, ITBP, in an interaction with The Tribune today at the Basic Training Centre, Bhanu (near Panchkula), where he was the chief guest at the concluding function of the 22nd ITBP Inter-Sector Athletics Meet.

Mr Agarwal who joined as Director-General on January 1 was on his first visit to the centre. At present the ITBP had 150 companies in 25 battalions and there were plans to add 13 more companies in the coming year, 12 more the next year and 13 more in the next few years.

Chandigarh, January 10
Mr Edward Nirmal Mangat Rai, the oldest surviving member of the ICS, died at Dehra Dun today. He was 88. He is survived by his wife, Mrs Nayantara Sehgal.

Born in Abottabad in the NWFP of undivided India, Mr Mangat Rai did his graduation from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, before joining the ICS in 1938 and served Punjab with distinction where his last posting was as Financial Commissioner (Development).

Mr Mangat Rai also served as Chief Secretary, Jammu and Kashmir, from 1964 to 1967. Before he resigned from service in 1971, he was Special Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Chemicals.

His death was mourned by family friends and others, including senior retired civil servants of undivided Punjab and present Punjab and Haryana.

Chandigarh, January 10
A three-member team of the CBI today visited the factory premises of Punwire in Industrial Area, Phase 6, here and collected some documents. The team from Delhi is investigating the case of closure of Punwire and the allegation of misappropriation of its funds.
TNS

Chandigarh, January 10
Two youths, posing as policemen, snatched a new scooter from a Class XI student near the junction of Sectors 18 and 21 here today. The duo escaped on the scooter after aiming a knife at the student, Amarjeet, who is a student of Government Senior Secondary School, Sector 21.

According to information, Amarjeet was coming from his residence in Sector 18 on his new Vespa scooter when two youths, wearing khakhi clothes, signalled him to stop. As the victim was not wearing the helmet, one of the snatcher asked for his driving licence . In the ensuing moments, the boy was pushed off the scooter and the two eloped on it. It took some time for the boy to reach home and inform his parents, who informed the police control room (PCR). The snatchers, however, could not be nabbed.

Car stolen: A Maruti car (CH-01-P-0506) belonging to Mr Gurjit Singh, a resident of Sector 15 was stolen from near the Sector 34 gurdwara. A case under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered.

Advocate Pankaj Jain of Sector 15 has reported that someone has stolen a stereo, a speaker and a suitcase from his car last night that was parked at this residence. A case has been registered.

A gas cylinder belonging to Mr J.P. Sharma of Sector 32-A was stolen from his residence last night. A case of theft has been registered.

Caught red-handed:
A case under Sections 379 and 411 of the IPC has been registered in the Sector 31 police station on the complaint of Mr Tejinder Pal Singh, a shopkeeper of Sector 47-D, against Arjun, who was caught red-handed while allegedly stealing a board worth Rs 1,200.

Arrested: The police has arrested Pammi, a resident of New Delhi, for allegedly stealing a car mirror from the Sector 17 parking. A case under Sections 379 and 411 of the IPC has been registered against him.

Liquor seized: The police has seized 96 pouches of liquor from Baldev Singh Rana last evening. A case under Sections 61, 1 and 14 of the Excise Act has been registered in the Sector 11 police station.

A team of police led by DSP Desh Bandhu and Sub-Inspector Om Prakash arrested Mohan Lal, a resident of Nawanshahr in Punjab from Bhatti village near here. The police had reportedly received information that the accused , who was the kingpin of a fake currency racket active here and in nearby areas , was supplying fake currency notes here and in surrounding areas of Punjab.

The accused has also confessed to supplying these fake currency to Uttar Pradesh and Balachaur in Punjab. It may be noted that the police had arrested three members of this gang in October last year and seized Rs 40,000 as fake currency from them. The accused has been booked under Sections 489-A, B and C of the IPC and remanded in police custody till January 13.

In another case, the police has managed to recover gold jewellery stolen by the six-member gang of dacoits from Pashupoati Nath Mandir here in March. The gang was arrested by the police on January 5.

One dead: Ramesh Kumar, a resident of Kalka, who was hit by an unknown scooter on January 5, succumbed to his injuries at the PGI yesterday. The police has registered a case.

Chandigarh, January 10
In the yesterday's case of murder of a seven-year-old girl by a migrant labourer, Mangal, the autopsy of the victim has reportedly ruled out the possibility of her being molested before being killed. A police official said though the autopsy report was yet to be given to the police, the victim, Beetan, had died of strangulation.

The girl's body was handed to her parents today after the autopsy. The girl had been abducted and strangulated allegedly by a former estranged neighbour in Shaheed Bhagat Singh colony here. The body was found in Sector 47.

Mangal was caught from Kumbra village, SAS Nagar, on Thursday morning. Saleem, a neighbour of the accused, had locked Mangal in his house after he came to know about the crime through other villagers. The police later arrested the suspect. The suspect would be produced in the local courts tomorrow. A police team is being sent to the native village of the suspect in Uttar Pradesh to ascertain his credentials.